Malibu Trees

State Parks workers, working to replace rocks that had fallen off the revetments in response to wintertime erosion of the sea wall, removed a coral tree growing within the sea wall. The sea wall needed emergency repairs to preserve the historic Adamson House at the Malibu Lagoon State Beach. Suzanne Goode, senior staff scientist with State Parks, said the tree was not native to the area. “The tree was growing out of the sea wall, and it had to be removed in order for us to protect the sea wall. We are sorry that we had to remove the tree,” she said. Malibu resident Andy Lyon, an opponent of the Malibu Lagoon State Beach overhaul plan, said the tree was planted by surfers in 1971 and didn’t need to be removed. He expressed concern that this incident was indicative of how the lagoon overhaul – a plan to replace non-native vegetation with native vegetation – will occur. “If this is any indication of how the lagoon project will be handled, it’s not a good sign,” he said.